TROJANS CAN'T PULL THE UPSET USC TO PLAY STANFORD IN TOURNEY WASHINGTON STATE 88, USC 86 (2OT).

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL

Staff Writer

PULLMAN, Wash. -- USC players and coaches shook hands with their opponents at midcourt Saturday and walked into the tunnel with hints of smiles on their faces.

Call it a glass half-full point of view.

A regular season full of positives ended with a disappointing 88-86 double-overtime loss to No. 13 Washington State at Beasley Coliseum.

The Trojans, ranked No. 23, lost the battle for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference, but couldn't be too discouraged with third after entering the season picked to finish sixth by the media. It's USC's highest placement since taking second in 2001-02. The Trojans were last in the Pac-10 just two years ago.

"We can be happy because we reached a lot of our goals from early in the year that probably no one really believed but us," said Lodrick Stewart, who led USC with 22 points. "The coaching staff taught us a lot and brought us beyond what we thought we could do this year."

USC (21-10, 11-7) will play sixth-seeded Stanford in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament at 6:20 p.m. Thursday. The teams split two games in the regular season, with USC winning last week at Galen Center.

This game mirrored USC's season so far, with a lot for the coaching staff to be happy about, but not the desired conclusion. It's the first time this season the Trojans lost consecutive games.

Stewart forced overtime with a 3-pointer from in front of the USC bench with five seconds left. Many of his family members, who came over from Seattle, got a great view of the shot from right behind the bench.

Stewart had a chance to win the game in the first overtime when he was hit on the elbow by Kyle Weaver on a 3-point attempt with 2.1 seconds to go and the Trojans trailing by twopoints. After making the first free throw, he missed the second. The Cougars (24-6, 13-5) called a time-out to ice him, but Stewart came out and hit the final free throw to force another extra period.

"I just wish I could have made one more free throw," Stewart said. "It's frustrating because I knew if I made those three, I could seal the game. That last free throw, whew, I was nervous in there on that one. I miss it, we lose. I make it, we get another shot."

In double overtime, USC trailed by three with 45 seconds remaining. Stewart attempted a 3-pointer to tie the score again, but it barely nicked the rim.

Gabe Pruitt hit two 3-pointers down the stretch but Washington State made its free throws to hold off the Trojans. Taj Gibson's full-court heave at the buzzer came up well short.

USC nearly pulled out the victory despite playing without leading scorer Nick Young for both overtimes.

Young fouled out with 18 seconds left in regulation after he stopped at the free-throw line and tried a series of moves to get defender Weaver up in the air with the Trojans trailing by two points. But Weaver stayed on the ground, Young lowered his shoulder and Weaver flopped to the floor.

An offensive foul was called.

It was similar to the first game between the teams, a 58-55 Washington State win at Galen Center, when Young caught the inbounds pass -- down by one in the final seconds -- and was called for charging at midcourt.

"It's one of the things I was proud of," coach Tim Floyd said. "I think our guys played well without him."

Young said he thought he jinxed himself by watching the movie "Deja Vu" with Denzel Washington on Friday night.

He stayed hunched over on the court for a minute before walking off.

"It was very hard," Young said. "Especially when it went into double overtime and how intense the game was. It was hard to see my teammates out there and not be able to do anything to be a part of it except cheer for them."

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Photo:

Washington State's Derrick Low, center, drives past Nick Young, bottom, and Dwight Lewis.

Kody Whiteaker/Associated Press